Table For One
by onlycullensforme
Summary: Edward, a waiter, notices that Bella comes into his restaurant alone every Friday night and asks for a table for one in a corner near a window, but he doesn't know why. After weeks of watching her, what happens when he is her waiter? AH/Canon/One-shot.


**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all characters. This one was really just for fun, and to eliminate yet another plotbunny… Read on if you please and at your own risk.

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**EPOV:**

She was here again, the brown-haired beauty with the sad eyes and determined smile. She came into my restaurant every Friday night, usually between 6:00 and 7:00, and asked for a table in a corner near a window. She'd been coming every Friday for the past six weeks. She would wait until a table like the one she requested was open. I heard she waited for up to two hours once. She would face the wall and look out the window. I could see her reflection when I'd pass by. I never caught her gaze, only because I didn't have time to stop. My section of tables was usually in the interior of the restaurant and often included large parties who tipped quite generously while occupying most of my attention.

"Masen!" my supervisor James called as I walked back into the kitchen to check on an order.

"Yes, sir?" I asked, walking closer.

"Once your last ticket is clear, I need you to switch sections with Victoria. She has tables 110-120 near the southeast windows."

Ten tables? That's it? I checked my watch and realized I only had about an hour and a half left of my shift.

"I can start those now. I'll split the tip with Victoria if she finishes up."

James raised an eyebrow in disbelief and shrugged.

"Where are they in the service?"

"They just had dessert. All she would need to do is run the check."

"You don't have to split it, Edward. I can do that," Victoria said behind me. "You've been working since breakfast anyway."

"I don't mind. I can split this table." I would anyway, even if she continued to protest.

"We'll discuss it later. I'll go cover it now. The southeast section is basically empty. You'll have some time to rest."

"If you don't have anyone seated in there in the next 20 minutes, Masen, you're welcome to go," James offered. "You've been here almost all day. Do you have tomorrow off?"

I smiled and shrugged. "I'm scheduled to open breakfast, sir. I'd appreciate being able to go early tonight."_ Seeing how I closed last night and opened this morning when someone's girlfriend had a bit too much…fun… and couldn't get out of bed. Not to mention I've only had three breaks in the last 12 hours. _

"Edward!" a musical female voice sang out. I turned around with a smile at my sister Alice's appearance. She was the lead hostess at the front of the restaurant and directed traffic, so to speak. She had an extraordinary talent for keeping people happy and her boyfriend Jasper had a way of calming people down if they were ever upset. They worked well together.

"Hi, Alice. Can you keep my section light for the next thirty minutes?"

"Oh! I just seated someone at table 114, but I can have Jasper move her if you'd like."

Was it _her_, the brown-haired, sad-eyed woman?

"No, it's fine, Ali. I'll go."

"Masen!" James called again before I walked out of the kitchen.

"Yes, sir?"

"Take the next week off. You've earned it. Don't even think about coming in."

"Thank you." I smiled and then inwardly sighed. While I appreciated the gesture, I needed the money. I was not exactly well-off and being on my own in downtown Seattle wasn't all that easy. I had been living with Alice and Jasper while trying to save money for entry into my own apartment, but things kept happening that seemed to suck my savings dry right when I was close to having enough to leave. My parents had offered to help—as had my uncle Carlisle and aunt Esme—but I had refused, insisting that I could make it on my own.

"Don't worry, Edward," Alice said as we walked out of the kitchen. "Jasper and I have everything covered this month. Consider it a late birthday and early Christmas present."

"Thanks, Alice. You're the best sister ever," I said in my best imitation of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.

Alice laughed and shooed me off to my table.

I thanked all of the gods I could think of and made a note to check the alignment of the moon, stars, and planets when I saw the brown-haired beauty in my section. She was gazing out the window, a slightly sad look on her face.

"Good evening, ma'am. My name is Edward and I'll be taking care of you this evening. I apologize for keeping you waiting. I see that you've started with a strawberry lemonade. Can I get you some water as well?"

"Yes, please," she said quietly, barely looking at me. _Please, please, look at me, _I begged her silently.

"Have you decided or would you like a few more minutes?"

I smiled when she finally met my gaze. I suppressed a gasp. Her eyes were the color of dark chocolate—one of my guilty pleasures—and hinted at an inner fire I hoped she'd let me rekindle. _Where did that come from, Edward? Focus! _ She held my gaze for a moment, looking almost stricken, and shook her head slightly. I flashed her a crooked smile and nodded once.

"No problem. Take your time. I'll be back in a moment with your water."

"Thank you." Her voice was quiet but distinct as I walked to the water station.

I took a slight detour to inform Alice of the situation in my section. She put Jasper to work explaining that the section was being prepared for a large party who was coming in shortly—fortunately, we _did_ have a large reservation in the next 45 minutes and my section would house it nicely—so there was no more seating available for now.

"Good luck, Edward. I have a good feeling about her," Alice whispered. She grinned as I rolled my eyes; she had been trying to get me assigned to the brown-haired woman's section for the last couple of weeks, but I wasn't senior enough to get my choice of sections.

I walked back to my section and placed the water on the table, then set a plate down with two lemon slices and two lime slices.

"I didn't want to seem presumptuous, so I thought I'd give you the option of lemon or lime in your water," I said, breaking the spell she seemed to be under.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure. Have you decided what you might like tonight?"

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**BPOV:**

I wasn't sure if I had it in me to actually try to talk to him or to even leave some token of my interest. It was more than probable that he hadn't even noticed me. I mean, really, who would notice me? What I hadn't expected was for him to be my waiter tonight , this bronze-haired, green eyed perfect specimen of manhood. He always seemed to be working a different section of the restaurant. I kept hoping, though, which was partly why I kept coming back at the same time for the past six weeks. I saw him coming out of the corner of my eye and felt myself tense. I looked out the window, knowing that this would be the only chance I'd ever have to talk to him—and that he'd only talk to me because he was obligated.

"Good evening, ma'am. My name is Edward and I'll be taking care of you this evening. I apologize for keeping you waiting. I see you've already started with a strawberry lemonade. Can I get you some water as well?"

I've died and gone to heaven. That voice was the voice of an angel. _Come on, Bella, he asked you a question. Answer him!_

"Yes, please." _That's the best you can do? _

"Have you decided, or do you need a few more minutes?"

I looked up, then, and immediately lost myself in his eyes. They were a dark green, between a deep emerald and forest green, and held a self-confidence I wished I could share.

I couldn't speak and shook my head slightly. One side of his mouth curled up into a crooked smile; I couldn't decide whether I should pull him in for a kiss now then run away or just run away. He was too beautiful, too… much.

So, I did nothing.

"No problem. Take your time. I'll be back in a moment with your water."

"Thank you."

I watched him walk away, laid my head on the table, and hit the table a couple of times. _Just leave a big tip and walk away now, Bella. This was a bad idea. You can't even hold a conversation when he's_ _being _paid_ to talk to you. How can you expect to talk to him in a normal conversation?_

Simple enough. I wouldn't hold any normal conversations with Edward. I would have dinner tonight and not come back again. This would be enough.

I heard footsteps and sat up as Edward approached. He set a glass of water down along with a plate of lemon and lime slices.

"I didn't want to be presumptuous, so I thought I'd give you the option of lemon or lime in your water."

"Thank you."

"My pleasure. Have you decided what you might like tonight?"

_Yes. You. Only you. Any way I can get you. _

"Do you have any recommendations?" _Wow. Way to go, Bella!_

He smiled his crooked smile and nodded once. "Have you had the mushroom ravioli?"

_Huh_. _I hadn't noticed that one._

"No, I haven't. But I'll try it tonight." I smiled up at him. He grinned back and winked at me as he took my menu. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a shrill female voice calling his name.

"Edward!"

An overly excited strawberry blonde woman ran up and wrapped herself around him. He stumbled backwards and grabbed a hold of her with one hand and the table across from me with the other.

"I've missed you!" she exclaimed, then planted a big kiss on his lips.

Part of me wondered how soft his kiss was; another part wanted to rip her from limb to limb. The larger part of me just wanted to leave.

_Of course. No one that perfect could be single. _

I discreetly checked my purse to make sure I had enough money for the ravioli and a tip. Yep. I had plenty.

I looked at anything but Edward and the strawberry blonde, but couldn't help but notice that he quickly disentangled himself from her and stepped away.

_Right. Averse to PDA. At least he has some sense of propriety. _

"I'm at work, Tanya. That is nowhere near appropriate."

_No kidding. _

Tanya giggled and reached for him again. He stepped away, clearly disgusted, and wildly motioned for some help.

A blond haired, blue-eyed man came to Edward's rescue and persuaded Tanya to let Edward work. She walked away with the blond man, promising Edward that she'd find him later.

"I'm very sorry about that. That was entirely inappropriate."

"It's okay," I said softly. "You don't have to apologize to me."

"Please, it would make feel better if I could formally apologize."

I couldn't help my smile and I met his gaze.

"If it makes you feel better."

He smiled. "It kind of goes against company policy, but would you tell me your name? It will help the whole formality of the situation."

_Sure. And when you're out of sight, so am I._

"My name is Bella."

He nodded once and straightened to his full height. I looked up and cocked my head to the side.

"I'm very sorry, Bella. That display was very unprofessional, not to mention unexpected and uninvited. I'm sorry if it offended you."

"Don't worry about it." I bit my lip and looked away. _Now's the time, Bella. Just say it. _"You know, I've lost my appetite. I don't think I'll be able to try the mushroom ravioli after all. I'm sorry."

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**EPOV:**

_Damn you, Tanya!_ was all I could think as Bella said she was leaving. My gut told me that if Bella walked out the door, I would never see her again. And that was something I could not and would not let happen.

I checked my watch quickly—my 20 minutes were up and Alice had been true to her word. Though I wondered how Tanya—a very, very long and sordid story I didn't want to get into right away—had gotten past Jasper, I didn't have any other customers. I could leave if I wanted to and I had the whole week off…

"Don't go."

"I think I probably should. I'm sure I've kept you away from your other tables long enough."

"You're my only table right now. In fact, I'm off for the night after you're done."

"Oh. Well. I'll let you go early, then. Here."

She dug into her purse and produced thirty dollars in cash, enough to cover the cost of the ravioli and a more than generous tip.

"No. I didn't place the order, so don't worry about it."

"It doesn't matter if you placed it. I asked for it, so I should pay anyway," she insisted.

"No, Bella. Truly."

She placed the money on the table and stood to leave.

"Thank you, Edward. Enjoy your evening. Don't keep your girlfriend waiting too long."

She clapped her hand over her mouth and looked at me with wide eyes as if she hadn't meant to say the last phrase.

I frowned and felt my own eyes widen as I realized that she meant Tanya.

I exhaled sharply and grabbed Bella's free hand as she tried to move past me, red with embarrassment. It was a rather forward gesture, I admit, but I hoped that it would at least keep her from leaving. I was not prepared for the jolt of energy her touch sent through me. She raised one eyebrow and lowered the hand covering her mouth. I dropped her hand quickly and instantly missed the contact.

"Oh, God, no! No, Bella. It's not like that at all."

"What?" she asked incredulously.

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**BPOV:**

"Don't keep your girlfriend waiting too long." Kill me now. I so did _not _just say that, did I?

Yes, yes I did, judging by the look on Edward's face. I clapped my hand over my mouth and tried to move past him. He let out a quick breath and grabbed my hand as I ran past. My entire arm tingled—in a very, very good way. The tingling spread throughout my body as he maintained contact, then abruptly stopped when he let me go.

"Oh, God, no! No, Bella. It's not like that at all."

"What?"

"Tanya and I are not… together," he said firmly. "Please believe me."

_Then I might have a chance? _"That's not what that looked like."

"I imagine not, but please. She is not at all my girlfriend. I don't have one."

It was all I could do to not actually break out into the victory dance going on in my head.

"Oh. Um. Wow. That was embarrassing. Sorry. Hmm."

"I really am done with work right now. Maybe we could start this conversation over somewhere else?"

"Do we have to talk about Tanya?"

Edward chuckled and shook his head. "No, not tonight if you don't want to. We may have to in the future, though."

_The future? He was thinking of a future with me?_

"How about we cross that bridge when we come to it?"

He flashed me a crooked smile and nodded. "Deal. Will you tell me one thing, though?"

"Sure."

"Why do you spend your Friday nights here? A beautiful woman like you could be anywhere with anyone you want. Yet you come every week, around the same time of night, and ask for a table for one in a corner near a window. Why is that?"

I smiled shyly and felt my face flush. I think this blush covered my entire face, neck, and chest, actually.

"Um. I was… hoping… that you'd notice me," I admitted. "I saw you working the section adjacent to me a few weeks ago… Ugh. Could we talk about this somewhere… not here?"

Edward's chuckle turned into a laugh and I couldn't help but join in.

"Certainly. And if I may be a bit presumptuous as we go?"

He extended his arm. I took it and smiled broadly.

"You may."

"I have the entire week off. Would it be possible to see you again after tonight?"

_Yep. Anytime. Anywhere. How high do you want me to jump?_

"I think I could arrange that."

"Fantastic."

Edward led me out of the restaurant, exchanging glances and smiles with a dark-haired woman and the blond haired man who had removed Tanya from Edward.

We ended up at another restaurant all the way across town.

"Good evening," the host greeted. "How many in your party tonight?"

Edward looked at me with a devastating crooked smile on his face and turned back to the host.

"Table for two, please."

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_A/N: OK. Sheesh. Stupid plotbunnies are multiplying. Um. First AH fanfic. I don't really want to do much more than the one-shot with this one, but there could be some material worth developing later. As usual, reviews are lovely and encouraged, but not necessary. If, however, you do have any strong feelings about this story being continued and/or re-developed, do let me know that. Tact is always appreciated. Thanks for reading! --ocfm_


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